But now, on the Triangle Expressway, engineers are testing systems that take a two-pronged approach to the problem.

First, drivers are warned with flashing red lights on signs telling them they are trying to enter the highway from the wrong direction.

Since testing began, four drivers have triggered the alert.

All turned around.

But the system also alerts authorities in case drivers don't stop.

That will give law enforcement a head start they don't currently have.

"We're just going to be looking to see which new technology performs the best. Then we're hoping to expand the pilot and implement this fully on the Triangle Expressway," said North Carolina Turnpike Authority Executive Director Beau Memory in a video provided by the state Department of Transportation.

Memory said the technology developed and tested right here will likely be exported to other roadways and even into other states.

"We're keeping people safe. We're making our facilities safer," Memory said. "And we're building a knowledge base that can be used by others to the same across the country."

ABC11 talked with a number of local drivers who know wrong-way, head-on crashes are some of the hardest-to-prevent driving hazards.